Messages Hidden In the Dark: A Scorpion's Gift
by NeoMiniTails
Summary: Gift for MissScorp. Every time Rei Hino comes to Gotham City, its never for a normal vacation.
1. Prologue Pt 1

**Author's Note:** Gift for Scorp! I'm doing a fanfiction of her Batman universe crossed with Sailor Moon.

The story somewhat takes place during the Batman R.I.P storyline but an AU.

Enjoy the story!

 **Prologue:**

Rei hadn't visited Gotham City in years. After someone mistook her for Bruce's bastard daughter, they'd kidnapped her, demanding a ransom. Batman came to save her at the time, but it was Tim and Raya's quick thinking that got them out alive.

It was Rei's first time meeting Tim, and at the time, she couldn't help but think that he and Bruce could possibly give Ami a little friendly competition. The young man was smarter than most and had a fire about him that reminded her that hope was never lost.

Her thoughts came to an abrupt stop as they finally reached Wayne Manor. Alfred opened the door silently, his stature as proper as ever but for some reason, he seemed sad. Rei couldn't say what it was that made her think that but something was definitely wrong.

"You look just like your mother, Miss Hino." The butler smiled as he used one hand to help her out the car.

Rei nodded, momentarily stunned, somehow having forgot that her mother and Bruce used to be very close friends as children. It was the very reason that he'd been chosen as her godfather. "Thank you." She didn't know why she thanked him. It wasn't really a compliment, simply a fact that he was stating.

Somehow hearing the two of them looked alike made it sound like they were still connected.

Before she could get all the way out the car, the first thing she noticed was a boy with a face that was almost exactly Bruce Wayne, save for his green eyes. There were many rumors about Bruce being a playboy, but seeing a boy, possibly in middle school or maybe younger standing there made the rumors seem real.

"I assume you must be the other fake child that my father likes to bring in." His words were sharp, and he spoke as proper as a boy raised to be a king.

Rei smiled as she kneeled down to his height. "You must be..." She paused for dramatic effect. Children were no problem. Adults and most people her age were the issue. "Damian Wayne. Its nice to meet you."

"Tch."

Rei looked around and was surprised to see only Dick standing at the doorway. She bit her inner cheek, somehow allowing his appearance to annoy her more than it should. Standing up, she flipped her hair then started towards him. "I was hoping to see the smart one.".

"As was I, Sailor Mars."

Rei's eyes flashed as she pulled her transformation pen close to her in one hand then turned to him. Keeping her calm, she gritted her teeth and under her breath asked, "Where is Tim?"

"Not even going to pretend that I don't know what I'm talking about?"

"Tim asked me to come out here for him and Raya."

"I sent that message because they've gone missing and in his notes, he mentioned you were Sailor Mars and that your powers may be able to be used to find Bruce."

Rei's eyes narrowed. "When did Tim and Raya go missing?"

Damian made a 'Tt' sound with his teeth then looked at her. "The phony daughter went after the idiot fake son after hearing nothing from him for a week." Grabbing a sword from off the garden floor, he sliced the shrubbery in half then glared at Rei as if to warn her. "Can you help or not?"

Dick's eyes were soft and looked worried. "Can you?"

Rei sighed and made a quick call. Looking back at them, she scowled. "Why can't any of my trips out here be normal?"

Before she could finish ending the phone call, she felt someone bum-rush her into a bear hug. She looked to her right and there was Ami, and she didn't need to look to know who was holding her so tight. The borrowed perfume that is a one of a kind and that high pitched giggle. "Usagi... Ami?"

Ami bowed low. "Sorry! Usagi kidnapped me to make me come."


	2. Prologue Pt 2

**Author's Note:** _Thanks for the review(s.) Consider this chapter as part 2 of the prologue. Next chapter will be in a different POV._

 _Please read and review!_

Dick understood why Rei was such an interesting topic for Bruce and Tim the moment he saw her reading Tim's journal with Ami by her side. The look in her eyes reminded him of Bruce, intense and undeterred in every way. The young woman had Damian explain the situation and accompany her.

They'd never really been much on speaking terms. There was a clear difference in how she spoke with him compared to how she perceived the other males of the Batfamily. Asking Rei to come to Gotham was a desperate action on his part, but he trusted Tim more than he cared about sullying his pride..

He watched from a distance, noticing Ami taking notes and pictures. Her soft features seemed model-like and the way she patted Damian on the head with a huge smile said that she was kind and different from Rei. Smarter than the average, Ami had obviously shown the youngest Robin something to respect because despite his signature frown, he seemed quite pleased by her actions.

Either that or Damian was softening up due to being around Alfred and their Labrador. He doubted the latter. Rei seemed interested in a message from her phone, looked at Ami, then stood up and stormed out the room.

The girl, Usagi, came running up the stairs but was brushed to the side by darkhaired priestess. He could see that she was still holding her phone then without so much looking at it, Rei pressed a button then "talk."

His phone rang two seconds later. "Meet me in the courtyard," she said darkly. Dick growled but the phone disconnected before he could respond.

He turned to see Alfred watching him watch them. "Young master, it seems that _he_ attracts the detective types, eh?"

"Surprised that I hadn't been her replacement for the Robin role," Dick chuckled. "She must've never lost a parent... Otherwise, Bruce would've been all over that."

Alfred didn't seem to see the humor in the joke. Dick cracked a smile at the butler, but the latter seemed less than enthused to respond to the gesture. The awkward phased between the two with neither saying a word.

The butler changed a lot since everyone started claiming that Bruce may have been killed. The Batfamily had been blessed to deal with his dry humor, sarcasm that had been developed over the years. Despite trying to keep the family afloat, Alfred must've seen everything falling apart, all his fears coming alive.

With Bruce dead, Jason gone astray, and Tim missing with Raya, it must've felt as if his nightmares were taking shape right before him and no matter how he fought to change the ending, it just seemed to get worse. Worse now, he'd just found out that Rei was Sailor Mars.

She, too, was a vigilante, like the rest of his children. Dick hadn't told him why he called Rei to Gotham nor about Tim's journal which led to his decision to get help. Bringing the Titans or Justice League seemed to not just be right.

Dick turned his back to Alfred and started towards the courtyard before stopping when he heard Alfred clear his throat.

"Young master, do be careful with your words with the Miss."

Dick nodded slowly before walking away. He and the young woman didn't know much about one another. Rei never revealed much about herself whenever they'd meet, and Bruce talked more about her mother than about his actual goddaughter. From his descriptions of Sakio Hino, it was clear that Rei hadn't taken much after her outside of the looks department.

He'd never met Sakio nor did he ever meet her father though Dick heard stories about him from both Alfred and Bruce. Apparently, he believed that he could save Japan by getting into politics and was so engrossed in it that he forgot about his daughter in the process.

 _Shit... You're the same, old man._

He stood on a high area above the courtyard, watching Rei. She'd been there for awhile with her fist curled into something fierce. Pulling out his binoculars, he could see her take out her phone and call _Raya_ then _Tim_ then _Raya_ again. After those failed attempts, she clutched her phone and her shoulders seemed to be shaking.

Her lips were quivering despite the angry look in her eyes. He couldn't hear her, but he could read her lips. In Japanese, she was saying, _"Why didn't he tell me?"_

Dick decided it was time to make his presence known. Climbing into a window, he came back into the mansion then walked to the garden as if he hadn't been in there before.

Rei didn't turn to him but her body stiffened and her shoulders became taut. "Why didn't you tell me about Bruce?"

"I did tell you. I told you that wherever he is Tim is likely at. He's looking for him."

Rei turned to him finally, her eyes flashing fury. "How long was he missing?"

"Bruce had been gone for two or three days, probably drunk at a pub or something... Tim got worried and went looking for him with Raya."

"Kean-san and Tim are smart and resourceful. They wouldn't go out for no reason nor would they not call you if they're going to be gone for this long," Rei chided, her long eyelashes seemed to be judging him as much as the arms that crossed her chest.

"I probably should've called the police, but its only been five days; I'm just worried and trying not to get any unnecessary stories printed about our family." Dick was an expert liar. He'd been doing it for years; it was a necessary trade for him to learn. Raya had always said it was the one thing that made heroes and sociopaths the same: this need to tell untruths.

He may have revealed his knowledge of who she was in her double life, but it didn't mean that she needed to know who they were behind closed doors. She may have been family, but Rei wasn't equal to them. She was on a "need to know" basis.

For a moment, Rei and Damian had the same look in their eyes. It was the same expression whenever the kid realized there'd been another Robin before, every vacation he found out about that another kid experienced, that look that Raya called ' _the lost and lonely child.'_ Dick wondered if Rei saw him the way that Damian saw everyone that Bruce took in: _that fake son._

"How long has Batman been gone then?" A higher voice pitched from behind him. How Usagi approached without him noticing was beyond him; it was as if she'd been walking on air.

It was like she was trained by Bruce, herself. Dick was sure he was thinking way too much on the matter. The girl was ditzy and a bit clumsy; it was highly unlikely that she too was a sailor soldier. "He's still around. I saw him on television just a few nights ago. It was a rare sighting."

Usagi put one finger to her lip as if dramatically thinking about what he said. "Hmm... Something seemed off about him." Her words lingered in the air. Dick had to wonder if the lords of the slums of Gotham thought the same thing.

Rei's eyes widened as if a lightbulb just went off in her brain. A smile popped up as suddenly as it disappeared. "That's not the same Batman. Their fighting style is different. This new one fights more like a wildfire and young. He fights like an acrobat." She paused, looked at Dick, then toward her phone.

"Batman isn't caught on camera often. Who's to say what his fighting style is?"

"You would know." The voice came from above. There was the blue-haired girl from earlier. She was standing where he'd been watching Rei earlier and in her hands were his binoculars. She smiled lightly then jumped off the building to the front of him. "Even with the pages missing from your brother's notebook, I could piece together who you are and that you're lying about how long Bruce has been gone. The real Batman is missing, and the one called Red Robin and Fenix have not been seen for awhile."

Rei looked away from Ami as she continued to break down their thought process. Frowning, she turned to him then mumbled in a low, menacing voice, "What makes you so special?"

For some reason, when she said that, all he heard was: _"You're just the fake son. Why do you know so much?"_


End file.
